Angkor - See Pictures Below

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I was very much looking forward to getting out of Thailand and entering Cambodia. I've heard nothing but amazing things regarding the country and its people. We were off at 7am for the 8 hour trip to Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat. At the meeting the night before, I was introduced to everyone. B some random chance, the group was 9 men & 3 women. 2 of those women were there with their boyfriend/husband. The group was from all over with the countries of England, Australia, New Zealand, Finland and Denmark. Outside of the couples, we were all solo travelers. Somehow all of my tours have been male dominated.

Midway through the journey we would be crossing the Cambodian border as Poi Pet. I assumed the border crossing would be a mess, but it went very smoothly. We were all issued 30 day visas and it only took about an hour to get through with the help of our guide. We arrived in Siem Reap and headed out for a few beers and dinner which turned into being in bed about 2:30. We were getting up to see Angkor Wat the next day and I'd be nursing a little hangover.

We spent a full 8 hours at Angkor Wat with an incredible local guide. This is another thing I can't really explain, I'll let the pictures give it justice. All of these buildings were built at least 800 years ago and were not re-discovered until 1860. This site doesn't have too much conservation enforced so you can walk over all the major sites and there aren't really any rules. Very odd when I think of international treasures like this. I'd guess it'll change in the future.

My last full day in Siem Reap and went with a few from the group to a local floating village. Around 4000 people actually live full time on the lake where fishing is the main industry. It was very touristy with lots of small boats approaching us to sell bananas and soda.The poverty is actually pretty sad especially when children are involved. Tomorrow we are heading another 4 hours east on the only paved highway in Cambodia, running between Siem Reap and Phnom Phen.

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